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NlTED STATES PATENT @rrrcs ANDREV? J. MARTIN AND JOHN C. BAKER, OF MECHANIOSBURG, OHIO;

SAID MARTIN ASSIGNOR TO THE MECHANICSBURG MACHINE COM- PANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SEEDlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 315,646, dated April 1%, 1885.

Application filed December 22, 1894. (X model.)

10 aZZ wit-0121. it may concern.-

Be it known that we, ANDREW J. MARTIN and JOHN G. BAKER, both of Meohanicsburg, in the county of Champaign and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seeding-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in seeding-machines of the class in which gangs of shoes are employed to drill or deposit the seed in rows; and the invention involves an improved shoe so constructed as to open the trench or furrow 'for the seed, deliver the seed therein, and cover the seed, and means for regulating the downward pressure of the shoe and the depth of the furrow opened.

In the accompanying drawings only those features of a seeding-machine are shown illustration of which is needed to convey aproper understanding of our invention.

Figure l is a side elevation representing one of the shoes and its attachments. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation with parts broken away. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the shoe looked at from the side opposite that represented by Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an elevation showing the inner side of one section of the shoe. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the arm which when in place has jointed connection with the shoe at rear.-

A is an end bar, and a is a front rod of a suitable frame, and B is the axle of the machine.

The frame of the machine may be of any desired appropriate construction. Its axle is mounted upon wheels in the usual way, and a hopper, tubes for conducting the seed therefrom to the shoes, a drivers seat, and all requisites of a fully-organized seeding-machine are provided.

Each shoe 0 of the machine is made in two sections, cl), suitably secured together. Preferably, the sections are connected by screws and bolts, that they may be readily separated. The shoe is made hollow. The inner surfaces of the shoe-sections are recessed and ribbed, so that when they are united the thus formed hollow shoe will be provided with the channel or seed conductor (2, extending from its open top to the outlet at or near its heel. The usual seed-conducting tubes enter to the open tops of the shoes, as will readily be undee stood. Each shoe is connected with the framerod a. by the diverging drag-bars E E, which arejointed to the frame-rod to allow the shoe to rise and fall, as usual. The shoe is pro vided with a vertically-curved cutting-edge,

6, shown as formed upon the section 0, which at its lower edge extends beneath and in rear of the corresponding edge of the other section D, which fits against the longitudinal shoulder or ribf of the section 0. The shoe (both sections) is horizontally curved, as shown, so as to open a trench or shallow furrow, but not turn over the soil. The shoe is cut away or formed with a lateral opening, F, at one side of its heel. As shown, the opening F is at the lower end of the seed-conductor d and at the heel of the shoe-section D. In this way seed passing down the conductor will be deposited in the trench in advance of the extreme point of the heel of the shoesection 0. It will thus be seen that when the soil lifted by the shoe in opening the trench is released it will fall back upon and cover the seed and fill the te1nporarily-formed trench.

In order that the shoes may be caused to bear downward with the desired pressure to properly perform their work in either hard or soft soil, and yet be held to their work with a yielding pressure, so that they may rise independently to pass obstacles and avoid breakage of parts, we provide mechanism as follows: Near each end of the axle B there is fixed to it a crank-arm, G, (only one of these arms is shown,) and suitable lever and detent devices are provided by which to rock the axle in its frame-bearing and secure it in any desired position, thus rendering the crank-arms adjustable vertically, their outer ends being raised or lowered by rocking the axle. A shaft, H, is supported at its opposite ends by the rear ends of the crank-arms, and hangers or pendent arms I (only one arm is shown) are supported by being hung loosely 011 this shaft. Thrust-arms J, one such arm for each shoe, are jointed at their lower ends to the rear upper portions of the shoes and at their upper ends bend or curve rearwardly, and are slotted to engage their respective hangers I in such manner that the thrust-arms may slide up and down upon the hangers. Each hanger is provided with a spring, K, which is coiled about it and bears with a downward or thrust-, ing force upon a thrust-arm. The downward movement of the thrust-arm along the hanger is limited by a suitable adjustable stop,which, as shown, is formed by a screw-bolt, h, passing through a longitudinal slot, k, in the hanger, and held in the desired position by a nut, as will readily be understood.

In the drawings the stop is represented as adjusted in, its lowermost position, and the spring K as somewhat compressed, as though the shoe were raised to some extent against the pressure of the spring.

In order to provide for the proper slight amount of play of the thrust-arm about its jointed connection with the shoe, and yet guard against too free movement of the thrustbar about such connection, the lower end of the thrust-bar is perforated to receive the j ointpivot, which passes through the lugs Z Zof the shoe-sections, and is formed with the doubly inclined or curved stop-surface m, which, by abutting against a suitableshoulder or seat, n, of the shoe, limits the play of the thrustbar about its pivot, as will readily be understood.

We claim as of our own invention- 1. The shoe curved horizontally, having the trench-opening edge and provided with the seed-conductor, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The sectional shoe having the trenchopening edge curved horizontally to lift the and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the shoe having drag-bar connection with the frame, the thrust-bar jointed to the shoe, the hanger with which the thrust-bar has vertically-adj ustable connection at its upper end, the hanger-spring acting on thrustbar, and the supporting-shaft of the hanger, for the purpose described.

4. The combination of the hanger-supporting shaft, the hanger, its spring, the thrustarm acted upon by the spring and having vertically-adjustable connection with the hanger, the stop for limiting the downward movement of the thrust-bar, and the shoe having dragbar connection with the frame and to which the thrust-arm is jointed, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. I v

5. The combination of the axle, the crankarms'secured thereto, the shaft supported by the crank-arms, the hanger or series of hangers supported by the shaft, the hanger spring or springs, the thrust arm or arms, and the shoe or shoes, all substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names.

ANDREW J. MARTIN. JOHN C. BAKER.

Vitnesses:

GHAs. T. BAXTER, ELI R MINE. 

